QPhoria
by Clez
Summary: (SUSPENDED... again... sorry :(!) Remember the episode 'Q2? Like it? Well, then you may enjoy this little piece. Someone pays Voyager a visit, but what do they want? R&R please :) Thanks. WIP
1. Part 1

He steered the Delta Flyer around the nebula, the colours swirling from gentle purples and blues to vibrant reds and oranges. When the more powerful colours showed, bolts of energy flashed within the cloud, and he watched with interest, and a childlike curiousity.  
  
"I thought you would have seen enough nebulas for one week," a voice from behind him said, and there was a slight hint of. well, it sounded like mocking.  
  
He turned his head to face her, and he smiled a charming smile in her direction, one that she didn't return. She looked aggravated, tired, and irritable, and with her in particular, it was a time to be wary.  
  
Checking that the course was laid in securely, he stood from his piloting seat, and moved over to her station, and began to massage her shoulders gently and rhythmically.  
  
"Don't tell me you don't find this beautiful. I thought you'd wanted to get off of Voyager for weeks," he said to her, his voice soothing and sympathetic, and just a little pleading.  
  
She looked up into his blue eyes, filled with innocence and love, and she couldn't help but smile.  
  
"Tom." she began, and her voice failed her, as she started to enjoy her massage, slouching into the chair as he continued.  
  
"Are you enjoying yourself?" he asked, leaning down to whisper in her ear.  
  
She laughed quietly, closing her eyes. "Well, if it wasn't for the work we need to do, I would very much be enjoying myself."  
  
Lieutenant Thomas Paris allowed himself a lopsided grin, and kissed his wife on the top of her head, running a hand gently over her stomach, where their unborn child was maturing nicely.  
  
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres on the other hand, simply smiled, and returned to her work.  
  
Tom moved back over to his seat, sighing a happy, content sigh, and ran another diagnostic on their course.  
  
They should arrive at the rendezvous coordinates within thirty minutes, and so far, the journey had been smooth and uneventful. The couple had taken numerous scans in this area, and had landed on a nearby moon to collect samples of what they had suspected to be dilithium.  
  
Well, the Captain would be pleased. it most certainly had been dilithium, raw, and ripe for the picking.  
  
At least it should tide us over for a couple of months, he thought to himself, running a scan of the nearby area for any alien ships or other nebulas.  
  
"Tom?" B'Elanna's voice sounded from her station, and he looked to her, and then back to his console, noticing what had her so concerned.  
  
"I see them," he told her, trying to keep his voice calm and collected, "I'll try and evade them."  
  
From behind him, B'Elanna gave a silent nod.  
  
He knew she trusted in his piloting skills, almost as much as he hoped they would hold out.  
  
This ship was fast, and like nothing he had ever seen before.  
  
But he knew one thing.  
  
If they tried to hurt his wife and baby. he would kill them.  
  
* * *  
  
Captain Kathryn Janeway slouched ever so discreetly into her command chair, next to that of her first officer's, and sighed a happy sigh, closing her green eyes for a moment of peace and quiet before she opened them once again to her duties.  
  
"Captain, we are approaching the rendezvous coordinates," Lieutenant Commander Tuvok reported, his voice a steady and calm flow of typical Vulcan approach.  
  
She nodded, and waited for further comment.  
  
Tuvok was not the one to give that further comment, instead, one Ensign Harry Kim was, as he said, "Captain, I see no sign of the Delta Flyer."  
  
That made her sit up straight, immediately alert and concerned for the two Lieutenants who were inside of that shuttle, and somewhere out there, and not where they should be, which was straight ahead.  
  
"Scan the area, see if you can pick up a homing beacon," she ordered, and Kim complied, turning his head downwards, to his work, fingers flying over the panels swiftly, carrying out her command.  
  
After a few moments, Tuvok announced, "I have located the Delta Flyer's signal, it is weak, and it appears they have company, Captain. They are approximately fifty thousand kilometres from our position."  
  
"Set a course," she told the helmsman, standing from her chair, "full impulse."  
  
"Aye, Captain," the officer acknowledged, and set the ship moving, towards their shuttle.  
  
As she sat back down, she looked across to her first officer, Chakotay, his dark features set, the only emotion playing in his brown eyes was concern.  
  
She hoped Tom and B'Elanna could handle themselves until they arrived.  
  
* * *  
  
The Delta Flyer rocked violently with the latest impact, and Tom gripped his station tightly, determined not to be thrown from where he sat. He cast a momentary glance back at his wife, glad to see that she was managing herself well, that good old Klingon spirit tiding her over for the time being.  
  
Tom Paris manoeuvred the sleek and streamline Delta Flyer as best as he could to evade the vessel attacking them, who, so far, had avoided any contact.  
  
Tom had tried three times to speak with them, and had just managed to keep B'Elanna from insulting them directly. They had remained completely silent. except for the projectiles they continued to fire on them.  
  
Another force rocked the shuttle, and Tom cringed as he heard something in his vessel creak and groan.  
  
"B'Elanna, give me some good news," he said loudly over the din, as he fired phasers back at the aggressors.  
  
"I can't do that, I'm afraid," she told him, her voice displaying all of her irritation towards their latest dilemma.  
  
He cursed lightly under his breath, and waited for her to clarify the problem.  
  
"Warp engines are offline, and shields are down to thirty-five percent. Also, the comm system has been damaged."  
  
"Dammit," he grumbled, and barely managed to keep his seat as yet another force slammed the Delta Flyer violently to one side.  
  
A panel to the rear of the Delta Flyer blew out, and a light flashed from beneath, showing the circuit had blown, rendering it useless.  
  
"C'mon, Voyager, where are you when we need you?"  
  
* * *  
  
B'Elanna gritted her teeth against the next jarring impact, and saw Tom as he struggled to evade the attacks, to no avail. These aggressors were persistent, and B'Elanna realised they had done something to provoke them. probably stolen something that belonged to them. such as raw dilithium.  
  
But they had not called to ask for them to return it, so maybe these people were just violent.  
  
"Tom, get us out of here!" she shouted, as another panel blew out, to her right, across the way.  
  
"I'm trying," she heard him say.  
  
She knew he was trying, but at the moment, his efforts weren't getting them anywhere, apart from closer and closer to oblivion.  
  
Tom worked desperately at the helm, and B'Elanna could clearly see he was getting frustrated.  
  
In a sudden burst from the helm, a bright light making B'Elanna close her eyes, the Delta Flyer ceased in its movement. When the light had died down, as smoke seeped through the helm console, B'Elanna could see Tom lying on the floor, unconscious, and bleeding.  
  
She moved from her station, grabbing a torch as she moved, attaching it to her wrist. She knelt next to Tom, and felt for his pulse. She located a weak rhythm, and located the nearest med kit, which was beneath the helm console itself.  
  
"Hang in there, Tom," she mumbled, filling a hypospray with something that she knew would help him. she couldn't recall its name, but she knew it would help. Her limited medical training told her that much at least.  
  
She felt the familiar tug on the shuttle as a tractor beam locked onto them, and she looked out of the main viewer, seeing a green glow from the technology as they neared the ship above.  
  
"Dammit," she grumbled, and looked around herself for something useful, something that could prove to be a weapon if they were boarded.  
  
She would be ready for them.  
  
* * *  
  
"Lock on phasers and target their tractor emitter," Janeway said as she stood from her command chair, Chakotay remaining seated.  
  
Out of the main viewer, the crew could clearly see an alien ship of unrecognisable origin, a powerful tractor beam tugging at a rather damaged Delta Flyer. All of the power from within the unique shuttle seemed to be inactive, and that fact made Janeway worry.  
  
She looked back at Tuvok momentarily, saying, "Fire."  
  
Tuvok unleashed phaser fire that slammed straight into the alien ship, at the point of the tractor beam's source. The beam failed, and the Delta Flyer was loose, but instead of flying free, it simply floated helplessly before them, in between the two larger vessels.  
  
The alien ship soon proceeded to fire a single shot at Voyager, and then retreat into a warpstream.  
  
"Transport the Delta Flyer into the shuttle bay, and send the Doctor there immediately, Tuvok, Chakotay, you're with me," Janeway said, her voice commanding. She began exiting the bridge, stopping only to say, "Ensign Kim, you have the bridge."  
  
* * *  
  
B'Elanna felt herself and everything around her rematerialize, and after a quick peek out of the window, she sighed a sigh of relief.  
  
They were back on Voyager. Their crew had come to their rescue.  
  
Tom lay before her, an injury on his head bleeding, and a few burns marring his hands and neck.  
  
She touched his arm gently, frowning, just as the rear door to the Delta Flyer was forced open. With the power off, they wouldn't open automatically as usual; they had to be opened manually, which sometimes took a lot of strength.  
  
Unless, of course, you had a Vulcan and a former member of the Borg Collective.  
  
She shone her torch against the familiar faces of Tuvok, and Seven of Nine. They moved towards them, parting to let Captain Janeway and the Emergency Medical Hologram pass through. The Doctor moved directly over to B'Elanna and Tom, without hesitation, whipping out his medical tricorder, running a scan on the unconscious helmsman.  
  
B'Elanna moved aside, and over to Janeway, who asked, "What happened?"  
  
"We were attacked. We didn't do a thing to provoke them; they just appeared. and fired on us. We couldn't make a dent in them," B'Elanna reported. "I think they may have made a claim on the dilithium we found, Captain."  
  
"Dilithium?" The Captain looked slightly pleased that something positive had come out of this situation. "Well, that will have to wait for briefing. At the moment, we need to get Mr. Paris to sickbay."  
  
* * *  
  
With a groan, Tom opened his eyes to the dim lights of what he knew to be sickbay. He'd recognise that ceiling anywhere. He'd stared up at it from this exact place enough times.  
  
He looked around him, and was welcomed by the smiling face of B'Elanna Torres, who was tenderly holding his hand.  
  
"Hi," she said to him, even as he rubbed his eyes, they were starting to ache already.  
  
"Hi," he greeted her in return, his voice a little hoarse. He smiled up at her, and asked, "What happened?"  
  
She sighed, and told him, "The helm blew, and you were knocked out. Voyager came to the rescue as they were pulling us in with a tractor beam. We obviously held some interest to them."  
  
"Or they wanted their dilithium back," Tom teased, and it earned him a light tap on the shoulder.  
  
He saw the Doctor emerge from his office, and beam at him. "Ah, Mr. Paris, nice to see you awake again. How are you feeling?"  
  
"I can sum it up in a sentence," Tom offered, and continued by adding, "did you get the licence number of the truck that hit me?"  
  
The Doctor looked over at B'Elanna, who summed that sentence up with one word; "Cartoons."  
  
With a smile, the Doctor nodded.  
  
* * *  
  
Captain Kathryn Janeway sat in her ready room, looking over B'Elanna's report with interest, and a little concern. The ship that had attacked the Flyer was powerful, and no doubt, it had a few friends.  
  
The thing that concerned her most was that the ship would probably report this indecency to its companions, and an attack on Voyager seemed imminent.  
  
Kathryn sighed, and sat back gently in her comfortable chair. It had been a long day, and two of her officer's lives had been put on the line. all for a simple supply of dilithium.  
  
Was it really worth risking her crew's lives over?  
  
If we don't have the dilithium, then we don't have any power, she reminded herself, and with another swift sigh, sat back up in her chair.  
  
Suddenly, the ship rocked violently, and a vase on her desk fell onto its side. Luckily, the glass did not break, but the small amount of water that was contained within spilled onto the surface of her desk.  
  
She ignored it, rushing out onto the bridge without being summoned. When her ship was in trouble, she didn't need to be called.  
  
"What's going on?" she asked of anyone who was listening, and cared to fill her in.  
  
Tuvok was the one to reply, "We are being attacked by three alien vessels. Their energy signatures match that of the one which assaulted the Delta Flyer."  
  
Damn, she thought simply, and took her seat next to Chakotay, who was looking down at the console between their chairs.  
  
Tom Paris was at the helm, having been returned to his full health. For that, Janeway was glad. He was working quickly, fingers flying over the controls, executing evasive manoeuvres.  
  
Harry Kim was working on sensors and communications. It looked as though he was frustrated, which was understandable, especially if the attackers weren't talking.  
  
Janeway left them to their work, and called up to Tuvok, "Target their weapons and fire."  
  
Tuvok moved to comply, but before he could, a jolt knocked the ship.  
  
"Weapons are offline, and shields are down to twenty percent."  
  
She held her breath whilst she tried desperately to think of something, but whilst she stared out of the main viewer at two of the three ships flying before them, there was a pair of white flashes. and the ships were gone. The one at aft was gone as well. no trace, nowhere to be seen.  
  
"Do I always have to get you out of trouble?" came a mischievous voice from behind Janeway, and she stood and whirled.  
  
Sitting on the rail behind her and Chakotay's chairs was Q. looking just as youthful as the last time he had visited Voyager. His black hair was a tousled curled mop on his head, sitting styled over his brow, hovering away from his forehead, above inquisitive, cheeky brown eyes. He was grinning that same grin as when he had pulled such stunts as bringing the Borg to their ship, and turning the warp core into a disco lava lamp.  
  
"Q," she said simply, even as there was a flash, and then another. He was behind her again, standing on the floor about two metres from the helm. "What are you doing here?"  
  
Janeway's eyes travelled casually around for the boy's father, and her ears were alert for his voice. but there was nothing, not a flash, not a clicking of the fingers. nothing. The boy's father was nowhere to be seen.  
  
This came as a surprise to her, considering what Q had told her the last time he had been around, with his son. The Continuum had ordered him to remain with his prankster son for eternity. wherever he went, Q was to accompany him.  
  
So where was he?  
  
"I thought I'd just pop by and see how you were doing, but, it seems you've gotten yourselves in a mess. Maybe I can lend a hand?" Q offered, strolling casually around the bridge, and as he did so, Janeway noticed the reappearance of four golden pips on his Starfleet uniform collar.  
  
She discreetly rolled her eyes, and replied, "It seems as though you already have. If I may ask, where is your father?"  
  
Q shrugged wildly, his arms flailing to each side for a moment before he said in a fed up voice, "I haven't seen him for months. precisely two days in your timeline."  
  
Janeway's delicate feminine brow furrowed for a moment, and she said, "I thought he was supposed to stay with you wherever you went."  
  
Q pointed for a moment, that grin returning to his handsome young features, and he told her, "You have a point. But, you know what? The Continuum realised how much of a good boy I was being, and they waved that silly, pointless rule. My father can go wherever he likes, so long as I don't mess with space matter and time so much that the universe tears apart." There was a little cheeky laugh that accompanied his comment, and Janeway couldn't help but smile herself.  
  
Q clicked his fingers, and before she knew what was going on, she was sitting back in her ready room, and the boy was opposite her, his boots up on her desk. where her flower was back upright in its beautiful vase, and there wasn't a drop of water to be seen on her desk.  
  
She waved her hand in the general direction of his boots, and he soon removed them from the desktop, crossing one leg over the other knee, foot bouncing up and down, typical restless behaviour for a member of the omnipotent Q.  
  
"So, Aunt Kathy, how have you been holding up since I've been gone? Have I missed anything exciting?" he asked, and he leaned forward onto her desk, his arms crossed loosely on its surface. His eyes were staring right at her, and he looked desperate for an exciting story.  
  
She would have to disappoint him though. "I'm afraid you haven't, Q. How about you? How have you been?"  
  
There was that loose shrug again. Janeway smiled.  
  
"Not too bad. I've visited all sorts of systems, even Earth a couple of times," Q told her.  
  
Janeway's heart skipped a beat, and she felt that familiar flutter at the mention of her home planet. She so wished to see it with her own eyes again.  
  
"You wouldn't believe how many new recruits they have at Starfleet Academy," Q laughed, and stood, walking over to a fruit bowl, and popping a small red cherry into his mouth.  
  
Janeway laughed. "More and more youths becoming interested in space travel."  
  
"Of course, they're all talking about you and your adventures, Aunt Kathy. You're a hero to them," the young boy said. Well, she called him young, he looked about eighteen in person, when in their time, he was merely four years old.  
  
"I am?"  
  
He nodded, and there was a look of earnest on the youthful face, as he placed another cherry into his mouth.  
  
That thought made her happy. To think that people back home were being inspired by her and her crew's journey. It made her wish she could see their faces.  
  
In a flash, she was standing on Earth. or something that looked to be Earth anyway. Q was by her side, but he was also sat on a wall across the way, watching youngsters as they passed, whether they be human, Vulcan, Bajoran or Klingon.  
  
"Don't get your hopes up, Aunt Kathy, I can't bring you home, this is only what I saw when I was here a few months back. Look at all these people. They're all learning about you and your adventures."  
  
Q smiled at her.  
  
"Oh, Q, it's wonderful. I can't wait to be back again, to see all of these people and tell them face to face what we've accomplished."  
  
She felt a gentle hand on her back, and she sighed. "You will. don't worry."  
  
And once again, they were back in her ready room.  
  
She sank into the comfort of her chair, and watched Q as he paced the room. Clearly, the boy was a whole new person. He had changed his ways. There was still that youthful aura of mischief about him, but he had managed to avoid erasing Neelix's mouth so far.  
  
"Oh, and another thing," Q said, turning to her, arms crossed, "I saw my mother."  
  
"You did?" Janeway sat forward in her seat, leaning on her desk for support.  
  
"Yeah. we didn't do much. We visited Thralias Prime, but we realised that we'd never really got along. We don't have that much in common. We agreed to see more of each other, now that she's admitted to being my mother again." Q sighed.  
  
Janeway tilted her head to one side ever so slightly as she said, "I'm sure you'll get reacquainted."  
  
Q nodded. "So, is there anything fun for us to do? No offence, but I'm bored."  
  
Janeway laughed, and smiled at Q, who smiled back.  
  
The boy had to have an agenda of some kind, some reason to be here, on her ship. There had been a reason last time, but the boy hadn't hinted at one whilst being aboard yet. What did he want? Not that she didn't like having him around now that he was an upstanding member of the cosmos.  
  
Perhaps he was just here to see her, like he had said. But he had to have an agenda. didn't he? All Q did when they came here, or went anywhere.  
  
But Q wasn't giving her any clues.  
  
She might as well just ask, she realised. "Did you have a reason to be here?"  
  
She asked it light-heartedly, so as not to hurt the boy's feelings.  
  
He sighed, hesitating. "I'm not sure. I just sat there, thinking. And then suddenly, you came into my head, and I realised I hadn't seen you in ages. and here I am." He held his arms to his sides, as if showing he had nothing to hide.  
  
Janeway knew there was something he wasn't telling her, but considering she didn't have infinite control over space matter and time, she realised she would just have to wait and see what the boy had up his sleeves.  
  
* * *  
  
Q enjoyed being here. there was, occasionally, a lot to see. But at the moment, as he said the first time he was here, there were just bipeds pushing buttons, replacing relays, and running diagnostics.  
  
He rolled his eyes, and hopped off the engineering console, strolling casually as ever over to one B'Elanna Torres.  
  
She looked none too pleased to see him, and he heard her sigh and saw her avert her gaze.  
  
"What's wrong, B'Elanna, you wondering where I'm hiding my party guests?" he teased, leaning gently against a pillar.  
  
She walked away, and with a furrowed brow, he followed, at a distance. He may be immortal, but he knew not to take chances with fiery- tempered Klingons.  
  
"You don't like me?"  
  
"Not particularly, Q, the last time you were here you nearly breached my warp core."  
  
He widened his eyes slightly, and laughed. "Your warp core. So, you've claimed it as your own. And I thought the baby inside of you was your fist born."  
  
She whirled to face him, and he jumped back a few paces.  
  
"For your information, my husband had a near-death experience, and I'm not in the mood for your jokes. If you're hear for a serious visit, feel free to stick around, but if you're looking to make trouble, go see someone else."  
  
Q shrugged, and clicked his thumb and middle finger together, finding himself in the cargo bay. He saw the Borg regeneration conduits, all of them empty. He exhaled loudly, and clicked himself to another location.  
  
This time, he found himself randomly placed in a room. someone's quarters by the looks of it. It was generously decorated with photographs and pictures, paintings and other such personal belongings.  
  
Lying on the floor was a coloured disk. He bent down and picked it up.  
  
He heard a small gasp, and turning his eyes in that direction, spotting a young girl, roughly eight years old, with long light chestnut hair, and ridges of some kind down her forehead and nose.  
  
She had young green eyes, and a curious look on her sweet face. He remained crouched, to look more accommodating to the young child.  
  
"Hello," she said in a charming delicate voice.  
  
He smiled at her, and replied similarly, "Hi."  
  
"I'm Naomi Wildman. who are you?" she asked, moving a step closer, obviously not finding him that intimidating anymore.  
  
He fondled the green disk in his hand, and answered, "I'm Q."  
  
"I've heard about you. but I thought you were older. And had less hair."  
  
Q decided he liked this girl. "That's my father. I'm Q, his son."  
  
"You have the same name as your father? What's your mother's name?"  
  
Q hesitated, and glanced at the ground with a grin, realising that questions were going to follow this reply, "Her name is Q."  
  
Naomi furrowed her brow, and cocked her head. "You all have the same name? Why?"  
  
"I don't know. That's just the way it works where I come from."  
  
"The Q Continuum, right? My mom told me about that place, but I don't know where it is," Naomi told Q, and he smiled in a friendly manner, standing to his full height, towering over the girl, but not so much to make her step back.  
  
"It's. well, I guess you could say it's all around," Q told her, and perched himself on a nearby chair, still holding the green object in his hand, studying it carefully.  
  
"What does it look like?" was her next inquiry.  
  
This girl certainly was inquisitive, if nothing else. She moved over to seat herself beside him.  
  
"Well, it can look however I want it to look," he informed her, and he frowned at the piece in his hand, showing it to Naomi. "What is this?"  
  
"It's a piece from my Kadiskot board. I've been looking for it, and my mom hates it when I make a mess. Neelix would be disappointed if I lost one of the pieces."  
  
Naomi accepted the Kadiskot piece from Q, and smiled gratefully. "Did you want to play?"  
  
He shook his head. "I don't know how to play, and anyway, I prefer a much more exhilarating game. Something with a few explosions."  
  
Naomi laughed. "You'd like Lieutenant Paris' holodeck programme, 'The Adventures of Captain Proton'. it has laser guns and villains and everything."  
  
Q laughed. Then he suddenly said, "Hey, you wanna see something cool?"  
  
She thought for a moment, and then replied, "Okay."  
  
With a quick snap of his fingers, Q made an impressive array of globes appear hovering in the air, each one orbiting a large golden orb, which flared every now and then.  
  
There were nine planets in the small system, some having their own moons, a couple with more than a few. One had large rings surrounding it, and running through the system was an asteroid belt. The third planet from the orb was beautifully colourful, a delightful pallet of green, white and blue.  
  
Naomi slid off the chair, and looked up in awe at the display.  
  
"You know what that is?" Q asked her, pointing.  
  
"Yeah, it's Earth, and the other planets in its system. I can name them all."  
  
Q leaned in and whispered in her ear, "I've been to all of them."  
  
Naomi looked back at him and giggled.  
  
With a grin, Q made the display disappear.  
  
"I wish I was a Q," Naomi said quietly, looking him in the eye.  
  
He shook his head. "No, trust me, there's nothing wrong with you the way you are. You're probably having more fun in your life than I am in mine."  
  
Naomi smiled, and suddenly said, "Uh-oh, I'm supposed to be in my anatomy lesson with the Doctor. He's gonna be mad at me."  
  
Q patted her on the arm gently, and raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry about a thing."  
  
He clicked his fingers, and just like that, the two of them were standing in sickbay.  
  
"Oh!" he heard the hologram exclaim, and there was crash of objects.  
  
Q rolled his eyes, and with a wave of his hand, and a small flash, the objects were back on their clean tray, and not a thing was broken.  
  
The Doctor stared at them wild-eyed, and noticed Naomi's smile.  
  
"Well, it's nice to see you too, Doc'," Q greeted him when there was nothing said, and he pushed Naomi slightly to urge her to go forward, into her anatomy lesson. which, to Q, sounded dull and pointless.  
  
In the blink of an eye, Q was gone.  
  
* * *  
  
Icheb was just finishing up replacing a faulty relay, when he heard something that made him start violently.  
  
"Itchy!"  
  
Icheb whirled, and to his shock and wonder, there was Q standing behind him, that same mischievous grin on his face.  
  
He didn't quite know how to react. considering Q had risked their lives the last time he had been aboard. It had all turned out to be a test, but it had still happened.  
  
"Q. what are you doing here?"  
  
Q's shoulder's slumped, and with a furrowed brow, he asked, "Why does everybody keep asking me that? No one just seems happy to see me."  
  
"I'm sorry," Icheb apologised, and set down the replacement relay he was working on, turning his full attention on the omnipotent child. "I am just surprised to see you again."  
  
"You didn't think I'd disappear forever did you, Itchy?" Q slapped him playfully on the arm, and laughed, looking at what Icheb had been doing prior to the interruption.  
  
He raised an eyebrow. "Well, there's a shocker." He laughed again.  
  
Icheb tilted his head to the left, and glanced back at what he was doing, and then smiled.  
  
Q sighed with a smile, and leaned, arms crossed over his chest, back against the wall. "So." the smile faded, "how have you been anyway?"  
  
Icheb recognised the vague hint of concern in Q's tone, and for that, he was grateful. Even if it was only faint, he appreciated it. "I am well. How are you? Is your father here?"  
  
"That's great. I'm good. and no, my father isn't here, thank god."  
  
Icheb narrowed his eyes in confusion, but let the comment slide for the time being. "I was led to believe he was to remain-"  
  
Q scoffed. "Ah, they took that back. I can go where I want without him, as long as I don't destroy the universe, or start wars, or shift continents." He gave a nervous laugh.  
  
Icheb nodded. There was something about Q's demeanour that led Icheb to believe Q was holding something back, but he wasn't one to pry. if Q wanted to share anything private, then that was his decision.  
  
After a few moments of awkward silence, Q blurted, "How are the flying lessons coming along?"  
  
"Good. Lieutenant Paris says I'm making good progress," Icheb replied.  
  
Q smiled. "No more ion imbalances?"  
  
Icheb laughed a quiet laugh, and shook his head. "No."  
  
Q laughed, and sighed. "Well, I'd better be going. I have more chaos to wreak through these decks." Again, he slapped Icheb on the arm, lighter this time, with a grin. "See ya later, Itchy."  
  
In a flash, Q was gone, leaving Icheb standing alone in the gentle hum and dim light to replace the faulty relay.  
  
* * *  
  
Q sat, chewing the end of his thumb nervously, knees drawn up close to his chest, looking down at the end of the Jeffries tube. Thankfully, there was no one else around to see him like this.  
  
But he couldn't hide forever. He knew he would be found. discovered.  
  
He was scared. a Q was scared, and worst of all, of his own kind.  
  
Most of all, his father.  
  
"What am I going to do?" he mumbled quietly, running both hands through his black hair, letting it fall in locks around his forehead. He frowned a considerable amount, and sighed loudly.  
  
Q knew he couldn't hide from the Captain forever, he couldn't keep information like this from Aunt Kathy. she was smart, 'she had gumption' as he had once so colourfully put it. She would find out. Either that, or someone would pop up and tell her all about it.  
  
What was he going to do?  
  
He was in trouble.  
  
* * *  
  
Captain Janeway was enjoying a quiet read in her quarters, some gentle classical music playing softly throughout the room, her loose warm clothes much more comfortable than her regulation Starfleet uniform.  
  
She wondered where Q had gone all of a sudden. She hadn't seen him for a while now. at least two hours. He had popped up whilst she was enjoying a bit of dinner and some coffee with Neelix and Chakotay, and the boy had had quite a conversation with the Talaxian, shocking Kathryn quite a bit.  
  
But something hadn't seemed right with Q. he had seemed nervous. Why would an omnipotent being like Q be nervous? Least of all on Voyager. He had nothing to worry about, he hadn't caused any trouble. Not that she knew of.  
  
She hadn't heard anything either, not a thing to make her think that her 'godson' was up to no good anyway.  
  
So far, Icheb and Naomi had informed her of their similar encounters with the youth, and they had both enjoyed the experience. Q had been friendly, accommodating, and to Icheb, apologetic and concerned.  
  
It was great that he was making such stellar progress. no pun intended. But there was something she just couldn't put her finger on.  
  
What was it?  
  
"Right, where is he?" stormed a voice from the rear of her quarters, close to her replicator.  
  
She made a startled noise, and leapt from her chair, dropping her book in the progress. That wasn't important now.  
  
"Q!" she exclaimed, seeing the boy's father standing, looking rather enraged, at the back of the room, arms crossed tightly over his chest, an obvious amount of tension filling his limbs.  
  
He had lines creasing his forehead, and his beady eyes were wide in anger, and his lips were drawn tight.  
  
"Where is he?" Q asked again, and then added hurriedly, "Hello, Kathryn."  
  
She shook her head vigorously for a moment, and then said loudly, "Where's who? What do you want?"  
  
"Q, where is he? He's gone too far this time. he's in real trouble."  
  
Kathryn closed her eyes for a moment, and then asked patiently, "Why is he in trouble?" Then she added, "He's been nothing but courteous ever since he got here. The boy hasn't done a thing wrong."  
  
Q laughed heartily, and then fell silent, rather ominously. He walked over to her, eyes narrowed now. "That brat has got you eating out of the palm of his hand, Kathy. He's manipulative, and conniving, evil and malicious, and you know it."  
  
"Now just hang on for one moment here," she said, holding up a hand to silence the rambling parent. "What exactly has he done? He hasn't shown any signs of mischief or trouble since he set foot on my bridge. He even saved us from some attacking aliens without having to be provoked."  
  
Q sighed rather impatiently, and told her, "You're so naïve, Kathy. You couldn't see his intentions if they came up and bit you in the-"  
  
"Q! Be quiet, or start making sense, it's your choice!"  
  
Q seemed to calm himself enough to take a few deep breaths, before he replied; "Q has eradicated an entire belligerent species within the matter of ten minutes. They're all dead, all one hundred million inhabitants of Hykarias Prime."  
  
Kathryn fell silent, words failing her. They had passed by Hykarias Prime only four days ago, and all of them had been healthy, and happy. There was no disease, no war, no famine, and no trouble at all. They had entered into trade with them, and managed to gather a generous supply of foodstuffs and other supplies. They had supplied the Hykarians with medicines, materials for buildings, and plans for replicators. They had been a lovely race. and now they were all dead?  
  
"How?" was all she managed to mutter, the shock taking its toll as she was forced to rest on the arm of a nearby armchair.  
  
Q cocked his head as he recalled. "Well, he simply destroyed their atmosphere in the blink of an eye, and then caused the continents to break apart. He also killed all of their plant life and livestock." He clicked his fingers, and a representation of the planet in question appeared. Everything was fine, green and lush, clouds brushing over the continents, filled with life.  
  
And then suddenly, the clouds turned into thick black smoggy patches in the sky, and storms formed. Even as she watched, their atmosphere started to diminish, and great cracks formed in the landmasses, and they finally tore apart.  
  
Mournful browns and blacks absorbed the greens. It appeared as though the ground had been scorched. The waters turned grey and filthy, contaminated.  
  
An area of land enlarged so that she could get a clearer view of what was going on, and as she watched, animals simply dropped to the ground, their eyes rolling up into their skulls.  
  
Soon, the people started to suffocate, and they fell to their knees, clutching their throats desperately, fighting for air. She saw at least five families die within a matter of minutes.  
  
"And here's the best part," grumbled Q sarcastically, as the planet enlarged again to show a global scale.  
  
Light started to shine through from the planet's core, and soon, it shone brighter, wider beams of it gleaming through the crust, until finally, it broke apart, shards of planet shooting out in all directions.  
  
With a click of his fingers, the representation disappeared, leaving Kathryn to wonder what could have driven the younger Q to such horrible actions. How could he have done something so disgusting?  
  
It wasn't true, was it? It couldn't be. This wasn't the behaviour of the boy she had socialised with today. it was impossible.  
  
"I know what you're thinking, Kathy," Q stated, placing a hand on her shoulder, "you're thinking 'this isn't real, he couldn't have done this'. But he could, Kathy. I know it was him."  
  
"How do you know?" she asked suddenly, desperate to fight for the boy's innocence. "Do you have any proof? It could have been a biological weapon from a neighbouring planet." She felt her eyes brim with tears. She swallowed them back.  
  
Q shook his head. "Nothing man-made could have done this, and you know that. you're just denying it to yourself. You shouldn't push the truth into the back of your mind. You know he's perfectly capable."  
  
"But you saw yourself how much he'd matured." Kathryn may have been in denial, but this just didn't fit. none of it did.  
  
And then she remembered how nervous Q had been in the mess hall.  
  
"That obviously was a ruse," Q concluded, "there was a witness."  
  
Kathryn looked up into Q's dark eyes, her brow furrowed. "Who?"  
  
"Another Q. He watched my son do the whole thing. And apparently he laughed!"  
  
"What are you going to do?"  
  
Q sighed, and he genuinely looked sorrowful. "He has been sentenced to death." 


	2. Part 2

Tom sat in his room, watching the classic television set B'Elanna had given him as a present, and laughed softly at the hilarious antics of the animated character running about on the screen before him.  
  
He picked at a half-full bowl of buttered popcorn, occasionally tossing a few pieces into his mouth, and savouring their sweet flavour.  
  
He gave a slight sigh, wondering when B'Elanna would finish her shift and come home, so they could go to bed. He hated sleeping in that huge bed all by himself. it just didn't feel right. it felt lonely somehow.  
  
"Mind if I join you?" came a tentative voice to the left of the couch, and he started slightly, turning his blue eyes in the direction of the unexpected noise.  
  
To his surprise, there was the young Q, standing nervously, fingers knotting together over and over again. Tom raised a single eyebrow, and, a little hesitantly, said, "Sure."  
  
Q perched himself gently on the edge of the arm of the couch, and watched the screen, cocking his head at what was going on, even as Tom laughed again.  
  
The concept of a novelty mallet was amusing to Tom, and maybe that was lost on the alien life form.  
  
He decided he should clarify what it was he was watching.  
  
"It's a cartoon. They were all the rage in the twentieth century back on Earth. kids loved 'em, and so did adults for that matter. It helps me calm down after a stressful day."  
  
Q lifted his head slightly in acknowledgement, seemingly transfixed at something so simple and meagre as a cartoon. "Oh," was his only response. The boy was fascinated.  
  
Tom smiled at the Q's reaction. "I can't believe you've never seen or heard of a cartoon before."  
  
Q looked to him this time, his attention drawn away from the animation, even as a coyote was struck with the novelty mallet. "What do you mean? Just because I'm omnipotent, it doesn't mean I've seen it all."  
  
Tom held up a hand. "I didn't mean to cause any offence. I just thought." he trailed off, not quite sure where his sentence had been headed.  
  
"No, I'm sorry. I'm just a little. distracted right now, I guess," Q apologised, and it genuinely seemed as though his mind was centred on something more important.  
  
"Anything I can help with? I've been told I'm a good listener," Tom offered with a friendly smile.  
  
Q shook his head gently from side to side, and he didn't respond. His eyes had turned back to the cartoon, and the coyote exploding drew a slight smile from the boy, almost unnoticeable.  
  
Tom knew something was up, but he didn't quite know what.  
  
* * *  
  
"Death?!" Janeway exclaimed, even as Q was pacing the room. "Isn't that a little extreme? I thought punishment for crimes was eternity imprisonment inside of a comet."  
  
Q nodded vigorously. "Yes, it normally is, but with something this dire, the Continuum has decided more drastic measures must be taken to ensure the boy won't do it again." Q turned to Janeway. "I don't think your teachings are going to help this time, Kathy."  
  
Stop calling me that, she thought impatiently. "You're going to let them execute your own son?"  
  
Q sighed, rather noticeably. "Well, even with my influence in the Continuum, I don't think I can help Junior this time. There's no evidence to say he's innocent."  
  
"What about a father's faith in his son?" Janeway offered, and she realised she sounded a little presumptuous. Maybe that was too much to expect from Q to believe in his son.  
  
Q scoffed quietly. "There's strong evidence against Junior. evidence that the Continuum has decided is enough to seal the boy's fate I'm afraid. His poor mother is in a mess. I think she's on the verge of disowning him again."  
  
That infuriating woman, Janeway thought for a moment, and then said quietly, "So, the Continuum didn't wave the rule about eternal custody after all."  
  
"No, I'm afraid Junior was lying to you on that one, Kathy."  
  
Maybe Q wasn't so innocent after all. if he could lie about something like that, he could lie about other things, right? Couldn't he?  
  
"He got away from me on Garvios VI. He'd slipped away before I even realised. The boy has all of those cosmic nooks and crannies stored firmly in his mind. I couldn't find him anywhere," Q told her, "and then I thought 'wait, where would he go in a crisis? To Aunt Kathy of course!'. and that led me here. I haven't seen the boy in two months." Q looked saddened by this latest dilemma.  
  
Janeway sighed sadly, and looked around her room. She wondered if Q could actually do any damage here. on Voyager. Was her crew in jeopardy whilst the youth was aboard?  
  
"What was this strong evidence you mentioned?" she asked. She might as well see it for herself; make her own mind up over all of this.  
  
Q directed her attention to a nearby viewscreen, and she could clearly see Q -the younger version- standing on one of Hykarias' three moons, smiling broadly.  
  
"This was from the other Q, the witness?" Janeway inquired, and he nodded in verification.  
  
"He watched from a nearby crater."  
  
As Janeway watched, Q clicked his fingers, and the planet started to degrade all over again. and as the witness had claimed. he laughed in enjoyment at the inhabitants' suffering.  
  
"That's enough," Janeway mumbled, and Q complied swiftly.  
  
"Now, Kathy, if you see him, you will let me know. I'll be back in a few hours to check on you, see if Junior's turned up." Q prepared to snap his fingers and make an exit, simply waiting for Janeway's nod.  
  
He didn't have to wait long, and soon after her acknowledgement, he was gone.  
  
* * *  
  
He had decided he couldn't hide anymore, or sit and watch cartoons, and he was about to make his way to Aunt Kathy's quarters, when he heard an announcement over the comm.  
  
"Q, could you come to my quarters please?"  
  
She didn't sound happy.  
  
With a small whimper, he snapped his fingers, and found himself in the Captain's quarters, which were dimly lit. Soft classical music filled the air.  
  
"Aunt Kathy, did you want something?" he asked quietly, his arms linked loosely behind his back. He swallowed dryly.  
  
She had her back to him, and one hand was rested defiantly on her feminine hip, the other up near her mouth, possibly covering her eyes.  
  
He hoped she had a headache, and simply wanted him to get rid of it for her. but that was doubtful. He guessed his father had paid her a visit.  
  
"I know why you're here, Q." Her voice was low, authorative, exactly like that of a parent. the mother he had never had.  
  
He was dreading this.  
  
"You do?" he squeaked, and cleared his throat quietly afterwards.  
  
She turned to him then, and there was such a distinct look of sheer disappointment marring her beautiful features, that it made Q want to break down and cry.  
  
He kept his composure. just barely, but cringed slightly under her assertive glare.  
  
"Hykarias Prime," was all she said, and she said it rather angrily, and mournfully too.  
  
Yep, good old dad's been here, his subconscious whined, as he lowered his head.  
  
He looked back up, as his arms dropped to his sides.  
  
"Why?" she demanded of him quietly, stepping right up to him.  
  
He couldn't bear to look her in the eye. "Aunt Kathy."  
  
"You call me Captain," she told him, and he felt his eyes swell with tears.  
  
He blinked them back, and simply said, "Captain, I swear. I didn't do it."  
  
She glared at him, commanding eye contact, as she hissed, "You expect me to believe you after the proof I've seen?"  
  
He decided he had to stick up for himself; it was either that or the hangman's noose for him. "I've been framed, honest. I wouldn't do that. I don't." he hesitated, "I can't ever remember being there, not since I was a lot younger."  
  
Janeway turned away, and started to pace slowly, back and forth, again and again.  
  
His voice caught as he said, "You have to believe me, Au- Captain."  
  
"Do I?" she asked of him sternly, her head snapping in his direction. "Why is that? Because I have your word? The last time you were here, Q, your word didn't stand for a whole lot. You put my crew in danger!"  
  
"I didn't mean any harm!" he retorted, a little too loudly, and he almost choked on the lump in his throat.  
  
There wasn't any sign of her believing him. He might as well go and tie the knot on that noose himself.  
  
She shook her head. "I've seen the evidence, Q, and there isn't anything that sides with you on this one. I'm going to have to hand you over to your father."  
  
"No," he pleaded, and he couldn't stop the first tear that rolled down his cheek, even as he wiped it away hurriedly, and stepped towards the Captain, "please. they'll kill me. I swear. I wasn't there." his voice trailed off, and he sniffled quietly, trying to hide it as he turned his head downwards to avoid Janeway seeing the tears.  
  
Janeway stepped close to him, and put her hand gently under his chin, and pushed his head softly upwards again, and she looked genuinely sympathetic.  
  
The look on her face ended his macho façade, as he choked on the tears, and just let them tumble from his eyes. He closed them tightly, and started to sob, even as he felt her arms pull him into an embrace. He let his head sink to her shoulder.  
  
His knees felt weak, but he forced himself to stay upright. It was enough of a disgrace to have someone see him cry. him, an omnipotent alien being. A Q.  
  
"Ssh," she eased, her hand rubbing his back softly up and down in a soothing rythmic motion that succeeded in slowing his sobs.  
  
With a forced sigh to try and cease them all together, Q listened as the Captain said, "I didn't think you could do something like that, but I just had to see your reaction. I'm sorry. I should have known you weren't capable."  
  
He hugged her tightly then, and didn't want to ever let go.  
  
She believed him.  
  
* * *  
  
Janeway was at a loss for what to do. She had somewhat of a crisis on her hands. a choice between the father and the son.  
  
Well, that's not a hard choice on its own, she told herself quickly, but then concluded that she had to consider all the facts in this dilemma. She couldn't just side with either of the Q's. there were consequences.  
  
She sighed.  
  
Consequences. the bane of her journey. Everywhere she went, their actions caused numerous, sometimes devastating consequences. There had been many a time that difficult, sometimes gut-wrenching decisions had had to be made, ones that affected life. even on a global scale in some circumstances.  
  
And she had avoided being selfish, to this point anyway. They were so much closer to home due to luck and good deeds. There had been many an opportunity to simply cheat, and glide on home.  
  
Wormholes, cosmic catapults, bribes, 'Think Tanks'! Where did it all come into the equation? If, indeed, there was one for this epic journey.  
  
She groaned, massaging her temples. She tossed the book aside, not having read a single syllable since Q had left her quarters to rest. The poor boy was in a terrible mess.  
  
But how could this have happened? Who would have gone to such lengths to frame a Q? And why this one? Who would have done it? And how?  
  
Too many questions, she informed herself, not enough answers.  
  
She imagined the answer to this conundrum was buried deep in time, and somewhere along the line, the solution was to be found, locked away somewhere.  
  
But that solution was the key to one boy's continuation of life. Even if he was omnipotent. immortal, Q could be harmed, even killed by his own people!  
  
Barbaric, she grumbled inside, and stood, taking it upon herself to pace like a caged, or confused animal.  
  
Kathryn couldn't come to grips with the fact that the boy's own father was in on the hunt. Surely, after all of Q's progress, the parent should be supportive, and look at everything from all angles, not just the one they presented him with, for crying out loud.  
  
She had thought Q had more initiative than that. Look at the mess he had gotten himself, and her into, four years ago. He had started a civil war.  
  
Janeway groaned again, slumping down onto her bed, after having found herself suddenly in the vicinity of it. A good night's sleep seemed like a good idea right now.  
  
She knew when she woke up though, the problems would re-present themselves, and worry her anew.  
  
* * *  
  
Janeway had only been asleep five minutes, when she felt something appear at the end of her bed.  
  
She awoke with a start, and glared when she made out the unmistakable features of the adult Q, the father.  
  
He was sitting, staring at the far end of the room, his back to Janeway. That confused her in itself.  
  
"Q. what are you doing here? In the middle of the night, for that matter?" Janeway moaned, sitting up in her covers.  
  
He glanced back momentarily with a small noise, one that showed he might not even have realised where he actually was, and said, "Oh, I'm back to check on you. and Junior."  
  
Should she lie? Could she lie to a Q?  
  
"I know what you're going to say. the way you hesitated gave it away, Kathy. I know you too well, you forget." Q paused, his shoulders slumping.  
  
Janeway frowned.  
  
"I know he's here, Katherine."  
  
He had called her Katherine. Maybe he was more affected by this than she had first thought. She had gotten the distinct impression that he couldn't care less.  
  
Perhaps she had been wrong about other things too.  
  
Janeway felt the saddened expression sweep like a dark cloud over her face, covering all.  
  
What was she going to do?  
  
* * *  
  
Seven of Nine stood in Astrometrics, working hard on some deep space scans that had her puzzled.  
  
It was irritating, and she couldn't quite work out what the problem was.  
  
Before her mind could settle firmly on the problem, she saw, more than heard the appearance of a being behind her.  
  
She turned calmly, and found herself looking, one eyebrow raised, at the young Q.  
  
He had appeared, perched on the edge of the console, swinging his legs slowly back and forth underneath the workstation, much like Naomi Wildman when she visited sickbay for a routine check-up.  
  
She tilted her head slightly to one side, linking her hands loosely behind her back.  
  
Q did not move. He simply sat, his face glum, his eyes focused on a nonexistent point somewhere towards the edge of the room, low to the ground, his hands knotted on his lap, legs still swinging.  
  
"Can I help you?" she asked, her voice calm as ever.  
  
This time, he reacted, looking up at her, his eyes distant, unfocused, as though he were not looking at her, but straight through her. He looked back down again. "No."  
  
"If you intend to try and embarrass me again-"  
  
He cut her off, "No, no, nothing like that. I just wanted to. sit."  
  
She narrowed her eyes slightly in confusion, and let out a small sigh. "Very well." She turned back to her work, tapping panels to try and scan the area ahead of them more affectively. It did not seem any easier now than when she had originally been trying. Her small, and unintended break, had not helped much.  
  
Seven could feel his eyes on her, and she looked down discreetly, to check whether or not the boy had attempted to amuse himself, as he had the first time he 'visited' Voyager.  
  
Everything was as it should be.  
  
His lack of mischief was a little unsettling to Seven, and she wondered whether or not he was planning something for later. something far more spectacular than when he had previously been aboard.  
  
She glanced back tentatively, and still, to her surprise, he sat almost completely still, obviously deep in thought.  
  
"Is there something troubling you?" she inquired, her back still facing the boy, even as she spoke. Perhaps B'Elanna Torres would have called her rude, but Q did not seem to mind.  
  
"No," he mumbled, and it seemed as though his concentration was elsewhere.  
  
She turned to him then, and said, "For three years, I have studied human behaviour, and yours seems to tell me you are withholding something."  
  
He smiled wanly. "I'm not human."  
  
"You represent yourself as human," Seven pointed out, attempting to make her point.  
  
He shrugged, or something very similar to a shrug made his shoulders rise and fall again.  
  
"Over this period of time, I have learned that humans can hide information quite well. you cannot."  
  
He looked to her, and one of his eyebrows was slightly raised. "You're saying you can tell I'm lying?" He smiled that forced smile again, slightly lopsided.  
  
She nodded once. "Yes, I am. I believe you are lying to me to keep from telling me something extremely personal, and possibly upsetting."  
  
He laughed quietly, nervously.  
  
That sealed it. the boy, omnipotent or not, was lying to her. But was she going to be able to get anything from him?  
  
She heard him sigh, and then, as she looked towards him, with a short smile at her, he disappeared in a flash.  
  
* * *  
  
Q stood from the edge of the bed, and turned to face Captain Janeway. She couldn't lie to him. he knew her too well; he could see it in her eyes. She was too righteous to lie properly. Janeway couldn't lie like he could.  
  
He denied himself a smile, in light of the circumstances, and said, "So, Kathy, where is he? Where are you hiding him?"  
  
She swung her legs gracefully from beneath the Starfleet issue sheets, and stood herself, replying, "I'm not hiding him, Q. I wouldn't hide your own son from you."  
  
Janeway's head turned towards the direction of the living room as a slight noise caught her attention, and Q recognised the noise without even having to think about its origin.  
  
"Aunt Kathy?" called a voice, reasonably quiet, young and masculine. "Aunt Kathy, are you in here?"  
  
The boy walked into the doorway, and halted immediately, a look of sheer panic crossing his youthful face, and his jaw dropped open slightly, as though he were going to speak, but words failed him. His brown eyes turned swiftly to Janeway.  
  
"Don't panic, Q," Janeway said, edging close to the youth, but he backed away, into the living room once again.  
  
Q followed Janeway, who tried again to near the child.  
  
He shook his head, running into the back of an armchair, and groping his way around it.  
  
Q could see now that the boy's hands were shaking. He was terrified.  
  
"Q, stand still, let me explain," Janeway pleaded gently, her voice soft and soothing.  
  
"No," Junior told her sternly, and he locked gazes with his father for a moment.  
  
Q saw tears shining in them, and he found himself slightly ashamed. Had his child taken it upon himself to cry now?  
  
Junior found he was backed into a corner, his father and 'godmother' surrounding him, one staring at him authoratively, the other's eyes filled with sympathy and kindness.  
  
Q rolled his eyes, and ordered, "Come here, Junior. You've got nothing to be afraid of."  
  
After a moment, Junior said, "You're lying. You're going to take me back to the Continuum, and they're going to-"  
  
"Have you killed?" Q offered, and then nodded once. "Yes. They are."  
  
"Q!" Janeway exclaimed, and walked a step closer to the boy, who no longer had room to back away.  
  
As humans said, he was caught between a rock and a hard place.  
  
"Q, I'm not going to hurt you," Janeway insisted, reaching out a hand for the boy to take. but he resisted.  
  
"Oh for goodness sake, if you're innocent, as you claim, then you don't have a thing to worry about," Q grumbled loudly, growing impatient.  
  
"You know that's not true," Junior retorted. He was as confident as he had once been again, and Q found that promising, but also a little disheartening. Old behaviour like this could mean that Junior had reverted to his old ways once more.  
  
Q sighed, annoyed with his son's human behaviour, and reached out to grab the boy by the arm.  
  
With a flash, Junior had disappeared, finally turning to his powers once again to get himself away from his father. Q had wondered how long that was going to take.  
  
"Now look what you've done," Janeway scolded. "Can't you even try to be sympathetic? The boy's terrified of you, and all you can do is order him around, and grab for him. You're even more selfish than I thought."  
  
"What do you mean, Kathy?"  
  
"You want to get this whole mess cleared up, so you don't have to deal with him anymore. Plus, if he's not around anymore, than the other members of the Q Continuum will stop relying on you to take responsibility. You think that if you rid yourself of your own child, then others will probably like you more, because they won't have to choose!" Janeway had obviously reached a limit, and Q was on the receiving end of that breaking point.  
  
He didn't have time for any of this human feelings nonsense. He had a criminal to catch.  
  
* * *  
  
Q breathed heavily as he looked around himself at where he had appeared, and found he was on the bridge, during the night shift.  
  
That quiet Ensign, Harry Kim was sitting in the Captain's chair, and the rest of the senior staff was nowhere to be seen, off in bed.  
  
He envied them, with their reasonably simple lives, and human values, being much more facile than that of the Q's.  
  
Ensign Kim stood from the chair, and reached to tap his commbadge, probably either to alert Janeway, or security.  
  
Q didn't want him to do either, so he clicked his fingers, and the crew suddenly realised that their commbadges had completely vanished, nowhere to be seen.  
  
As Kim opened his mouth to order the computer to alert someone, Q snapped, "Don't. please."  
  
Kim's brow furrowed, and he cocked his head in confusion.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Kim asked.  
  
Before Q could answer, a flash averted his gaze to his left, where a rather angry father, and persistent Aunt Kathy stood.  
  
Janeway was wearing her red Starfleet uniform now, complete with four golden pips, representing her authority.  
  
His father stepped forward, and from the look on his face, he had had enough of chasing the boy. "That's enough, Junior, you can't hide from me anymore."  
  
"Just try and stop me," Q said in a small voice, and moved to click his fingers.  
  
His father beat him to it, and as the younger of the two clicked his fingers, nothing happened. Slowly, his hand went completely numb, almost impossible to move, bolts of tingling pain shooting up and down his arm.  
  
"What are you doing?" Janeway demanded, seeing the slight look of pain on Q's face, as he held his hand, confusion overwhelming him. He had never experienced pain before, and it was unpleasant. He didn't wish to feel it again.  
  
"Oh, you didn't like that?" his father teased, and continued, "Well, if you don't want it to happen again, I suggest you stop playing games, and come back to the Continuum with me."  
  
"No!" Q yelled defiantly, standing to his full height, and glaring straight into his father's dark eyes.  
  
His father stared directly back at him.  
  
Janeway stepped in the middle of them, and loudly said, "Stop this, now!"  
  
Ensign Kim took a step back from the conflict, afraid to get caught up in the crossfire.  
  
Q felt the tingling sensation flow from his hand, and diminish completely. Perhaps his father had lost concentration on his son, and instead had transferred that onto Janeway.  
  
This gave the youth a chance for escape. But where could he go where his damned father couldn't find him as easily?  
  
Resisting the urge to smile a cunning smile, he took hold of Janeway's hand suddenly, and snapped his fingers.  
  
* * *  
  
"What happened? Where did they go?" Q demanded, whirling to Harry Kim, who jumped back like a startled rabbit.  
  
"I. I don't know. He must've taken her somewhere," Harry fumbled, shrugging.  
  
"Well tell someone, and stop stating the obvious. I know he took her somewhere, I want to know where," Q yelled.  
  
Kim rolled his eyes at the superior behaviour of the stubborn being, and calmly asked, "Would you mind returning my commbadge so I can call the Commander?"  
  
"Oh, that damn child," Q grumbled, and snapped his fingers, returning the commbadges on all of the deprived crewmembers.  
  
Immediately, Harry tapped the badge, and in his best 'situation' voice, said, "Bridge to Commander Chakotay."  
  
After a moment, he heard Chakotay's tired response, "Chakotay here. What is it, Harry?"  
  
Kim sighed. "The Q child has disappeared."  
  
"Well, isn't that good news?" Chakotay wondered.  
  
"He's taken Captain Janeway with him."  
  
* * *  
  
Kathryn spun on her heels to look around at her unfamiliar surroundings, and saw trees, and old buildings. Very old buildings. So old in fact, that they were all wooden, and came complete with balconies, and signs such as 'Saloon'.  
  
She spun back around, realising that a long dress was swirling around her legs, petticoat and all, and she saw a young Q, dressed in his gender's equivalent for the time period.  
  
He wore boots, complete with spurs, trouser with dust-covers, a plain shirt with a leather waistcoat, and a hat pushed off the top of his head, hanging down his back on a thin rope.  
  
"Q," she began, "where are we?"  
  
It was then that she noticed the holsters at his hips. six-shooters.  
  
She saw him swallow, and she knew then exactly where they were.  
  
A shot ring filled the air, and Q started violently, grabbing a firm hold of Janeway's wrist, and tugging her fast across the open dusty street.  
  
Another shot sounded, and struck the wood wall in front of Q, and he skidded to a halt. Glancing to his right, the boy spotted a head poking out from behind a barrel, and his eyes went wide.  
  
Janeway recognised the man. rather, she recognised the Q. it was the official from the civil war, looking no different from before. Except that now, she saw the shine of a Sheriff's badge as it caught the light.  
  
"C'mon!" Q yelled, and he continued his sprint across the way, dragging her along behind him. They came to a sudden halt behind a building.  
  
"We're in the Continuum?" she said through clenched teeth.  
  
"Sorry," Q apologised, breathing rapidly, back flat against the planks of wood the building was built from, "I couldn't think of anywhere else to hide. My father shouldn't be able to find us so easily here."  
  
"Us?" Kathryn snapped, and immediately composed herself. She wasn't going to do anyone any good by losing her temper. "What do you mean 'us'? Your father has no quarrel with me." Then she added, "Plus, I don't think hiding in the Continuum is the best course of action for you right now. Remember, they think you destroyed Hykarias Prime."  
  
Q drew his gun, staring at it, obviously having never seen a weapon like it before, saying, "But I didn't."  
  
"They don't know that!" she hissed.  
  
"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking," Q told her, and jumped visibly as another shot cracked loudly against the wood at the mouth of the opening.  
  
"Q!" that same southern accent called, from that same member of the Continuum. "We know you're hiding in there. You may as well come out, and we'll get this over with. You're just delaying the inevitable, boy."  
  
Q rolled his eyes. Clearly, he hated being referred to as 'boy'. Who wouldn't?  
  
"I didn't do it!" he called, checking to see if the gun was loaded, almost spilling the bullets all over the floor. "I was framed!"  
  
Kathryn heard laughter, and it was her turn to roll her eyes. Where just about all Q this stubborn?  
  
She knew the youth was innocent. she had seen his real reaction to the accusation, a display of emotion and shock she had never before seen in a member of his race.  
  
"What do we do?" Janeway asked of Q quietly, relying on his expertise in his own environment.  
  
He looked at her, and he had that same look of bewilderment on his face. "I have no idea. I guess we fight?" He held up the gun.  
  
"No, you can resolve this peacefully. I'll help you. You don't need any bloodshed."  
  
Q raised an eyebrow at her response. "They want to kill me!" He cringed as he realised how loud his voice had erupted, and bit his bottom lip, resting his head back against the building behind him.  
  
Oh dear, he has no idea what he's doing, Janeway resolved, letting out a small whimper, even as another bullet slammed full force into the wood, splintering it into a thousand small shards.  
  
* * *  
  
Q didn't really know how to rectify the situation. everything was a mess. He felt like calling himself a complete idiot for bringing himself -and Aunt Kathy- to the Continuum in the first place.  
  
Why had he done that? Every Q in the place had to know he was here now, and just about every Q was out to get him anyway. It wouldn't take long for him to be discovered.  
  
He made a small pathetic noise, and stared at the revolver weapon he held in his right hand firmly. so tight his knuckles had turned white.  
  
He loosed up on his grip, and cast a tentative glance at the Captain, who was busy staring to the opening in the alley.  
  
Before he could say anything, a large form appeared, suddenly, abruptly. Q started violently, even as the horse and rider pushed their way into the alley. The figure upon the steed held a gun of his own, and had it pointed in their direction  
  
The animal's eyes were wide with fright, and it hopped on its forelegs, hooves pounding the ground, dust flying into the air.  
  
"Q!" Janeway exclaimed, clearly understanding the intent of the rider, "Run!"  
  
He scrambled from the ground, fumbling to put the gun back in its holster, just managing to, even as the horse reared up behind him.  
  
Q, in a desperate attempt to escape the animal, jumped, and rolled behind some discarded logs to the side.  
  
The horse's hooves slammed back down into the dirt, and he swallowed dryly. The horse, being created by a Q for purposes of the Continuum, could probably do him some damage. if he understood the way this all worked.  
  
Immortal my ass!  
  
He scrabbled his way out on hands and knees from behind the logs, just to appear in front of the large horse again, even as it reared up in surprise once more.  
  
It let out a loud whinny of terror, legs high above Q's head.  
  
He cowered, covering his head with his arms.  
  
He felt a forceful tug on his shirtsleeve, and was yanked from underneath the animal just before it would have crushed his skull.  
  
He panted in shock, and, with wide eyes, ran with the Captain out into the opening once again, in a desperate attempt to flee the pursuer.  
  
Gunshots filled the air, and ricocheted off every surface available nearby.  
  
As they reached the middle of the road, a reverberant shot, louder than the others, rang out.  
  
Q gave a loud shout of pain, and fell to the floor, eyes clamped shut. He cried out again, clutching his leg.  
  
"Q!" Janeway yelled, coming to his side.  
  
The horse galloped over, and almost came right over them, before sliding to a fumbled halt at their side, rearing up and whinnying again. The rider on top pointed the weapon on the boy, then on Janeway, then back to Q.  
  
He looked up through a haze of pain and shock at the rider, as perspiration beaded his forehead. The pain was so intense, and so unfamiliar. It was terrible, and he swore he couldn't feel his leg anymore.  
  
The rider turned, and spurred his horse away from them suddenly, galloping back over to where the other members of the Continuum had taken it upon themselves to set up camp. outside of a Saloon.  
  
Q gave another cry as Janeway pressed on the wound. He drew his hand away, and stared in disbelief at the presence of dark, thick, red blood, covering his palm and fingers. It seemed to numb the pain in his leg for a moment, before he heard a strange sound, bringing him crashing back to reality, and the pain.  
  
There were hundreds of loud noises, and shouts, gunshots. but not at them anymore. They were going back and forth over them.  
  
Q diverted his clouded gaze over to behind them, and surprisingly enough, saw what had to be a dozen mounted figures, charging in their direction, weapons drawn and firing.  
  
The horses hurtled full pelt towards them, and as they drew dangerously close, Janeway herself covered Q. She shielded his body with her own, holding him close.  
  
He screwed his eyes up tight, afraid to open them to the strange events and loud noises and chaos. which he had once so faithfully enjoyed.  
  
He heard the thudding as the hooves trampled the ground around them, and then came to a halt. There were loud whoops and cheers, and gunshots fired randomly into the sky.  
  
He opened his eyes, as the Captain drew her body off of his. They were completely encircled by horses and riders, firing their guns into the air to divert attention from the defenceless figures in between them.  
  
"Come on," came a voice from their side.  
  
Q looked up into the face of another member of his race, who held out a hand for him to take.  
  
He grabbed it, and hauled himself painfully off of the ground, favouring his right leg. He gave a muffled cry, one he tried to stop short. He had never felt pain so intense. he had only ever felt the sensation when his father had stopped him from using his powers back on Voyager, and that small amount had been enough.  
  
Janeway supported him as they moved, over to where someone, hopping on their toes, was clutching the reins of a horse, a large black animal, which eyed them curiously, and snorted once.  
  
As they reached the animal, the shots continuing to fire loudly, cracking and exploding non-stop, Q was helped up into the saddle of the creature, which snorted again. Janeway climbed up onto its back also, behind the injured Q, holding him tightly, and gripping the reins firmly.  
  
The two that had helped them mounted their own steeds, and with a few more yells and shouts, and, of course, more shots fired, they rode off again, Q and Janeway amongst them.  
  
Q had to fight to keep his eyes open, nearly blacking out through the throbbing agony every few seconds. He felt the reassuring grip on his clothing from Aunt Kathy, which kept him from collapsing off of the back of the galloping animal. It faithfully followed the others of its species.  
  
Janeway directed the charging animal, and held Q close, to keep him safe.  
  
He breathed heavily, the shock of the events altering his perception on what was going on around him.  
  
They had left the town, and were running off to what seemed like nowhere.  
  
After what seemed like hours of fighting blackness, and clinging madly to the saddle pommel, they stopped.  
  
Janeway slid from off the horse, as two members of the Continuum jogged up to help her.  
  
She reached up to grab Q, even as he started to fall, the darkness enveloping him completely. He remembered nothing further.  
  
* * *  
  
Kathryn just managed to grab the boy, along with two other Q, even as the youth fell completely from the horse's back. Luckily, they had been prepared for just such an event, and had managed to avoid him crashing to the ground, which, no doubt, would have proved counterproductive.  
  
"What happened?" one of them asked, his hat firmly on his head, even after riding that hard and that fast. He had light eyes, and, poking out from under the hat was equally light hair, golden in appearance. The blue eyes regarded her earnestly, and he seemed genuinely concerned.  
  
"He was shot, by his own people," she grumbled, helping them carry the unconscious youngster to a tent. They lay him on blankets inside, and the other man left.  
  
She watched him go, and asked, "Who are you? Why did you help us? I thought everyone was after Q, not out to help him."  
  
The Q tilted his head this way and that for a moment, before replying, "Well, not all of us believe what we've seen. The evidence doesn't quite fit, ma'am."  
  
There was that title again. Did they detect she was a woman of high stature in her culture, or where they just being polite?  
  
"I know what you mean. I personally witnessed the reconstruction of this boy's life, from the ground up. He is an upstanding member of your race now, even more so than his father."  
  
The Q smiled wanly. "So, you're Janeway."  
  
"You know me?"  
  
He nodded, inspecting the gunshot wound on Q's left upper leg. Blood oozed from it, and he grabbed a cloth.  
  
Janeway took the cloth gently from his grasp, and took it upon herself to clean the wound personally. She was responsible for the boy now.  
  
"He was supposed to bring peace to your kind. not chaos. Why are you fighting again?"  
  
The Q sighed. "It's all this business with the destruction of Hykarias Prime. Half. well, most of them believe the boy did do it, simply because they've been told he did."  
  
Janeway shook her head in disgust, dipping the stained cloth in a nearby handy bowl of water, and continued to clean the wound.  
  
"And the rest of us think it's a set up. Someone wants him out of the way," the Q said.  
  
Janeway's eyes darted in his direction. "What do you mean? Why would someone want him," she gestured to the unconscious figure, "out of the way? He never did anything to hurt anyone."  
  
"Maybe not, ma'am," he responded, "but certain members of the Continuum feel threatened by Q. He was the first child born into our Continuum. That makes him unique." He paused, studying the boy's progress. He frowned. "He's brought change with him into our world. Things are different. and there are people here who don't like change, ma'am."  
  
"Stop calling me ma'am," she grumbled quietly, stroking a stray lock of black hair from the boy's forehead, feeling his temperature at the same time. It was a little too high for her liking. He was burning up.  
  
"Sorry," he mumbled in apology, and knocked the hat from off of his head.  
  
"What do I call you, if I may ask? Or do you want me to call you Q, because it could get very confusing, very fast around here," Janeway inquired, nodding towards the youth.  
  
There was that smile again, edging on charming, but carrying that unmistakable mischief all Q carried with them wherever they went. "You can call me. Quentin."  
  
She smiled herself. "Always with the Q's."  
  
"Well, I'm trying to be consistent, ma-, Captain."  
  
"Call me Kathryn," she corrected politely, glancing down at Q as he rested.  
  
They sat in silence for a moment, listening to the panting breaths of the inured boy as he slept.  
  
Janeway was the one to break that silence, unable to simply sit and listen to him suffer. "We should dress the wound."  
  
She moved to tear the underskirt of her long dress, but Quentin stopped her, reaching over to the other side of the tent, and coming back with bandages.  
  
"Thank you," she said quietly, and set about bandaging Q's wound.  
  
* * *  
  
Chakotay paced the bridge, glaring occasionally at Q, as he stood simply with his arms crossed grumpily over his broad chest. He looked annoyed, deeply, but Chakotay felt this was because his crafty offspring had outsmarted him, and this fact irritated the hell out of the parent.  
  
Chakotay granted himself a brief smile, before saying, "Why don't you go after them?"  
  
Q huffed for a moment, and then grumbled, "I can't seem to return to the Continuum at the moment."  
  
"Why not?" Chakotay asked, and then he remembered the previous Q Continuum conundrum. "Ah, this is exactly the same predicament as when your mate came aboard. She couldn't return to the Continuum either. Are your people at war again?"  
  
Q sighed loudly, impatiently. "Not that I know of. There is this awful business with the destruction of Hykarias Prime."  
  
Some of the crew looked up from their stations, and Q seemed to notice that not all of the crew -including senior officers- had been informed of this tragedy.  
  
"Yes, well, anyway, there is a collection of Q who believe my son is innocent, and was framed." He laughed at the idea. "A Q being framed. it's propsterous."  
  
"Really? How so?" Chakotay inquired.  
  
"Because a Q simply wouldn't lower himself to that human state of mind. Why would a Q want to frame another anyway, especially my son? He's supposed to inspire peace and compassion." Q began to pace now, in the place of Chakotay, who stood still by the Captain's chair, watching the omnipotent being.  
  
"Commander," came the voice of Harry Kim, back up at his Ops station.  
  
"What is it, Harry?" Chakotay asked, looking up at the young Ensign.  
  
The young Ensign glanced back at him, and tilted his head, as if in disbelief. "You're not going to believe this, but we've got a star about to go supernova five hundred kilometres off our starboard bow."  
  
Chakotay knew what this meant. especially if the Q were involved, which was inevitable.  
  
He glared at Q, and sat in the Captain's chair. "Helm, back us off to a safe distance, I don't want to be on the receiving end of that shockwave. The last experience wasn't so enjoyable, as I recall." Another glare at Q.  
  
Q rolled his eyes, in what he seemed to think was a subtle action.  
  
Q took it upon himself to sit comfortably in Chakotay's normal chair, to which the Commander didn't exactly seem keen on, but could probably do nothing to prevent.  
  
The members of the Continuum could be so stubborn.  
  
* * *  
  
Janeway sat on a thick warm blanket in the tent, her gentle green eyes fixed permanently on the injured boy.  
  
She was worried about him, even though Quentin -as he had titled himself- had insisted he would be fine. Now that they had cleaned the wound, dressed it, and the bleeding had ceased, Q was out of the woods, so to speak.  
  
There was a quiet whinny from outside of the tent, and Janeway sighed a gentle sigh of exhaustion. She wished to rest, but with the events falling into place as they were, she didn't think she wanted to risk it.  
  
Falling asleep in the Continuum didn't exactly fit into her perspective of a wise thing to do, considering there was a battle going on. slowly.  
  
Each side were taking slow digs at the other, and every now and then, she heard a distant gunshot.  
  
It made her worry, and she exhaled restlessly. She wished to help, but the last time she had tried to do that, it had almost ended in her execution, as well as Q's. the father Q that is.  
  
She didn't know whether to blame the father for all of this or not. It was the father's fault the boy had sought to escape from Voyager in the first place. If he hadn't come along, then Q would probably have been perfectly happy to stay aboard, and help them out a little here and there.  
  
Janeway would have quite liked the youth's company on the journey. He proved a refreshing distraction from the regulation day of Starfleet duty.  
  
Just as she was thinking, there came a low groan from the sleeping figure on the floor.  
  
On top of the thick blanket, his hand twitched, and then moved. His eyes blinked open slowly, as though he had just woken from a pleasant dream.  
  
Did Q dream?  
  
She moved over, wrapped tightly in her blanket, chilled to the brink of shivering. She touched his arm gently.  
  
He looked to her with half-closed eyes, and quietly asked, "Aunt Kathy?"  
  
"Yes, Q, it's me," she reassured him.  
  
He sighed, and reached up, rubbing his eyes. When he removed his hand, his eyes were fully open, and he was eyeing her curiously.  
  
"What happened? I remember escaping. but then nothing else," Q muttered, attempting to sit.  
  
Janeway eased him back down, and replied, "We arrived at this camp, and you lost consciousness. We had to catch you as you fell off the horse."  
  
He smiled. "Typical. Well, I've never ridden a horse before."  
  
"Did you enjoy your first time?"  
  
"Maybe under better circumstances," he said with a wan smile. He moved, cringing slightly at the obvious stinging in his leg.  
  
He propped himself up on his elbows, and lifted one side of the blanket to look at his injury. The bandage was doing a good job of keeping it covered, and Janeway had changed it not so long ago after it had soaked up a considerable amount of blood. Now, it was merely stained. There was a patch in the middle, but nothing too impressive.  
  
"It doesn't hurt so much now," he told her, leaving the blanket off. Clearly, he was a little overheated.  
  
She had managed to lower his body temperature using a damp cloth as he slept. Now he simply had to concentrate on resting that leg until it healed.  
  
She smiled at his bravery in the face of diversity, and patted him gently on his right leg to let him know she was there for him.  
  
He smiled back, and nodded once to show he understood. 


	3. Part 3

Q felt his leg had healed enough so that he could risk standing. He steeled his reserves, and forced himself from off of the blanket, stifling a cry of pain as the tingling agony shot up and down his left leg. He pushed it down inside of himself, and took a deep breath in as he balanced himself.  
  
He let the breath out slowly, feeling the pain subside, until he started to limp forward. He favoured his right leg considerably, but he knew he would heal quickly. being a Q.  
  
Q peeled back the flap of the tent, and squinted into the sunlight. People milled about everywhere, carrying logs for fires at night, grooming horses, cleaning and prepping artillery.  
  
He limped out of the tent, looking around himself at the people Aunt Kathy had spoken of to him. These people believed in him, they knew he was innocent. Well, that was what they said anyway. Whether or not they were being sincere was yet to be seen.  
  
Sincere, he thought, yeah, sure, I know all about that, don't I? He shook his head as he recalled his past behaviour. He had risked so many lives, including his own.  
  
"Q, what are you doing?" he heard someone call, and turning his head to glance over his shoulder, he almost unbalanced himself.  
  
Janeway steadied him just in time, and repeated, "What exactly do you think you're doing out of bed?"  
  
She sounded just like. well, just like his mother. Or what his mother should have been like. His mother had been quite a disappointment in the caring area, as had his father.  
  
What a great childhood I've had, he realised, casting a charming smile in Janeway's general direction.  
  
"I'm okay. If I'm going to be hunted like some animal, I'm going to need to be able to run away from the hunters, right?"  
  
Aunt Kathy smiled discreetly, and nodded. "I see what you mean, but you shouldn't be out of the tent during the day. What if your 'hunters' were to come by? They wouldn't hesitate in shooting you, Q."  
  
He sensed concern in her voice, and he appreciated that greatly. She was doing a much better job of being the parent than the real couple had ever done. Now all he needed was a father figure.  
  
Fat chance, he sighed.  
  
He heard booted feet approaching, and the ring of spurs jangling. He turned his brown eyes in their direction to see another Q approaching.  
  
"Quentin," Janeway greeted him, and Q raised an eyebrow at the title.  
  
What kind of name was Quentin? The Q didn't have names!  
  
As he thought about it, he realised how confusing it had to be. considering everyone here was named the same thing. He had never really thought about it much. It was second nature to him.  
  
"Good morning, Kathryn," Quentin greeted in return, and then turned to face Q, "and to you."  
  
With a furrowed brow, Q replied, "Good morning. I think."  
  
Quentin laughed quietly, his hat shielding his face from the sun, casting shadows over his features. "Good, you're wary around strangers."  
  
"Oh, I recognise you," Q informed him. "You were the one who pulled me off the floor in the town. You helped me and Aunt Kathy."  
  
"Aunt Kathy?" Quentin mumbled, and then continued louder, "Oh yes, the whole godmother thing, I remember."  
  
Q decided he wasn't too keen on this Quentin. He was far too cocky, even by his standards. And he knew all about cocky. He had been the personification of the term not so long ago.  
  
"How are you feeling this morning, Q?" Quentin asked, and then added, "Are you sure you wouldn't prefer another name? There are so many Q's around here, it gets confusing, as Kathryn said."  
  
Q shook his head once, sternly. "No, Q's fine. I'm okay. The leg doesn't hurt as much." After a moment, he added, "Thank you."  
  
Quentin inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement.  
  
"Are you hungry, Q?" Janeway offered, looking to the youngest of the party.  
  
After realising she was addressing him, he simply nodded with a short smile.  
  
She walked away to rustle up some food, and Q took it upon himself to find somewhere comfortable to sit.  
  
The only thing that closely fitted into the category was a tree stump, cut off about two feet high. Q hauled himself onto it with ease, and waited for Aunt Kathy to return.  
  
Quentin had followed him over, as if taking on the role of his bodyguard.  
  
Q glanced up at him, and felt his brow furrow once again. What did he want anyway?  
  
"So, who do you think framed you?" Quentin asked suddenly, shattering the calm silence.  
  
Q looked up at him, giving him most of his attention, saying bluntly, "I'm going to take a wild guess, and say 'Q'."  
  
Quentin got the joke, and laughed heartily.  
  
It wasn't that funny, Q thought blandly, turning his eyes away from the slightly unsettling Quentin.  
  
* * *  
  
After eating a small amount of unappealing food, Q had taken it upon himself to walk for a while, within the most outer confines of the camp, where Aunt Kathy had assured him he would not come to any further harm.  
  
This didn't make any sense to him. Who would try to frame him? And why?  
  
It was, as the Vulcans would say, illogical. But what did the Vulcans know about all this anyway? They were omnipotent, and they didn't live in a place where any change brought about war that could potentially tear apart the universe with supernovas!  
  
Calm down, he told himself, sitting on a tree stump. He sighed, and cringed a little as a stinging sensation swept up and down his leg briefly.  
  
"Q!" exclaimed an approaching voice, one that made him start slightly.  
  
He whirled, standing, and wavering slightly. The hat swung around his back on the cord, and he found it irritated him a little.  
  
"Oh, it's you," he mumbled, leaning against another tree by the stump he had rose from, and crossing his arms over his chest in an annoyed gesture of impatience.  
  
Quentin, or whatever he had taken his name as, strode up to him confidently, smiling wanly, and said, "How are you feeling?"  
  
"I'm fine. What do you want?"  
  
"Fine way to thank me," Quentin told him, coming around to face him. It was then that Q noticed the six-shooters at his hips.  
  
Q looked down discreetly, and realised he himself was unarmed. His guns were gone, removed. He looked back up into the eyes of Quentin, and smiled, "Sorry. I am grateful, but I'm also confused. All this is new to me." Then he huffed quietly. "Saviour of the Continuum. some saviour I turned out to be."  
  
Gunfire could be heard in the distance, and the frightened whinny of a horse.  
  
Q turned his head in that direction, and closed his eyes, shaking his head. "I'm the cause of another war. What kind of saviour does that to his people?"  
  
Quentin smiled. "It's not entirely your fault, Q."  
  
Q raised an eyebrow. Not entirely? So, Quentin blamed him partially then. He hadn't seen that coming from his rescuer.  
  
"The people of the Continuum are afraid of change, and you're the biggest kind of change the Q have seen for over a millennia. You have to understand that. Sometimes we can be just as fickle as humans."  
  
Q laughed. He could just see Aunt Kathy's face in regards to that comment.  
  
"Now what you have to do is find a way to rectify all of this, and discover who's behind your framing. Then, after all that, the Continuum should be able to return pretty much to normal. Or as close to normal as it gets around here anyway," Quentin informed him wisely, tipping his hat slightly to keep the sun out of his eyes.  
  
Q sighed again. "Yeah, but how do I do all of that? I have no idea why anyone would even want to frame me in the first place."  
  
"Maybe that's the point. The one who framed you probably knew you wouldn't suspect anyone, and used that to his. or her advantage. In not suspecting anyone, they're in the clear," Quentin clarified, looking over his shoulder as a shot echoed.  
  
Q furrowed his brow. "Okay, now that's just complicated."  
  
"Think about it, kid, it'll all make sense soon enough. And then you'll be able to start figuring all of this out for yourself," Quentin added.  
  
Q started violently as three loud gunshots rang out close by, and he heard desperate shouts.  
  
"That's coming from the camp," Quentin exclaimed, and gazed wide-eyed at Q.  
  
"Aunt Kathy," Q muttered in realisation, and shot off as fast as he could to reach the camp.  
  
Quentin was soon on his heels, and even overtook him without much effort.  
  
Within a few moments, they were at the camp, and Quentin ran into one of the tents.  
  
Q slowed immediately at the carnage that awaited him. Everything was in a mess. The campfires had been kicked about all over the place; horses ran around in a daze, freed from their tethers; boxes were overturned and spilling; and tents were knocked down.  
  
"Captain?" he called loudly, concerned.  
  
He started walking over to the tent where he had been staying the night before, and found it had been knocked over, the ropes tying it in place cut. He saw no person inside, and immediately started to panic.  
  
"Aunt Kathy?!" he yelled louder, the fear rising up in him. He ran a hand over his eyes, and called again, and then again. He received no answer.  
  
A few of the other Q had started to shamble back into view, a few of them with spots of blood on their clothing. A couple were sporting visible wounds.  
  
He grabbed the nearest one, even as Quentin appeared again, holding a rifle.  
  
"Where is she?" he demanded, staring the Q right in the eye.  
  
He looked right back, and knew who Q was talking about, as he replied, "She's gone. They took her."  
  
Q released his grip on the other man, and turned his eyes to Quentin, who shook his head.  
  
Moving away slightly, Q stopped in front of a box that had been overturned.  
  
After a couple of silent moments of reflection on all the madness that had taken place, and with a shout of rage, Q slammed his boot into the box, smashing the wood.  
  
* * *  
  
Q sat on the ground, hugging his head on his knees, his heart racing with anger. How the hell could he have let this happen?  
  
He had let Aunt Kathy, his guardian, get abducted; by his own people no less! He was irresponsible, as always. How could he have been so careless?  
  
He heard Quentin's approach, and without even looking up, he said, "What is it?" He was fully aware that his voice was probably muffled, but he did not care. He wanted answers, and he wanted them know; from whoever he could gather them from.  
  
Quentin's voice was quiet, regretful, as he said; "We found this near Katherine's tent."  
  
Q looked up through narrowed eyes, and accepted the note that was handed to him.  
  
He screwed it up shortly after reading it, his knuckles turning white with the pressure he applied to the crushing of the paper.  
  
They wanted him. He had known that all along. But what had possessed them to resort to kidnapping to get him to come to them? Why hadn't they just stormed in and taken him instead of her?  
  
"I can't take this," he grumbled unhappily, letting his head sink to his knees again.  
  
The hand that did not hold the crushed paper ran through the back of his black hair, and scratched his head lazily.  
  
"I know, kid," Quentin said in understanding tones. "You weren't expecting this. None of us were, not from the others anyway. I didn't think they'd resort to this."  
  
"I should have seen it coming," he mumbled to himself. Then, louder, he said, "What are we gonna do? I have no idea what I'm even doing here. Where's my father when you need him." Then he laughed. "No, wait, I don't want my father. He never knows what to do. That's probably where I got my hopelessness from."  
  
"You're not hopeless," Quentin told him feebly, crouching to Q's head height.  
  
"Oh yeah?" Q retorted, raising his head, and looking Quentin right in the eye. "Then how come I can't seem to figure any of this out? Huh? Answer me that. you seem to have the answer for everything."  
  
Quentin sighed then, and stood. "You have to do this on your own, kid. I don't think I can help you anymore."  
  
"You're not going to help me?" he blurted angrily, struggling to rise from the ground, wincing in pain at his leg. It had started to seize up on him.  
  
"I'll help you get Katherine back, but I can't figure the rest out for you. That's something you have to deal with," Quentin replied, his voice stern.  
  
Great, he thought, like I can do anything myself.  
  
"Fine," he muttered in response, and wandered off. He knew exactly what he had to do now. He had to get Aunt Kathy back, and in one piece.  
  
Just how he was going to do it was a mystery.  
  
* * *  
  
"What do you plan to do now?" Q demanded of him as he sat comfortably in the chair beside him, staring with those irritating beady eyes, arms crossed impatiently over his chest.  
  
Chakotay glared over at him, and without replying, looked up at Harry. "How long until the next supernova?"  
  
"I've got one coming up in about five minutes, sir," Harry informed him, "but that doesn't mean we won't get another one unexpectedly sooner, Commander."  
  
Chakotay nodded.  
  
"This is all your fault," Q moaned.  
  
Chakotay looked over again, and this time, did not deny Q the response he obviously wanted. "How did you come to the conclusion that this is our fault? You're the one who won't even believe in your own son."  
  
"No need to get personal," Q whined.  
  
Chakotay sighed, trying to calm himself down.  
  
Tom turned in his chair, and commented, "If you even tried to get to know your own son, you'd see right away that he couldn't possibly have done anything like what you say he's done."  
  
"You don't even know of the accusation," Q told the helmsman, and continued, "so how can you pass judgement so blindly? Don't meddle in things you couldn't possibly even begin to comprehend."  
  
"That's your problem," Tom began.  
  
"Tom," Chakotay warned holding up a hand.  
  
"No, Chakotay, why defend him?" He turned his unforgiving gaze upon Q again, and said, "What kind of father are you anyway? I thought I had it bad, but your son will never know true family if you carry on the way you're going."  
  
"That's enough, Lieutenant. That's an order," Chakotay said sternly.  
  
This time, Tom complied, and with a shake of his head in Q's direction, spun slowly back to his station.  
  
Chakotay glanced in Q's direction, only to see, surprisingly enough, that the omnipotent alien actually looked guilty.  
  
He hadn't thought that possible of a member of his race.  
  
Maybe he was wrong. 


End file.
